TriniTuner.com | Latest Event:
Moderator: 3ne2nr Mods
wing wrote:Why most voters watch this and still vote for them?
wing wrote:Why most voters watch this and still vote for them?
Nope, they look at the choices and decide. In our system, just a few thousand voters in certain areas decide the outcome. Having all your support in one place makes no sense. Then again, there was opportunity to correct the system, except the constitutional majority was used just once to pass section 34.Mmoney607 wrote:wing wrote:Why most voters watch this and still vote for them?
So the key to winning elections in this country is to have the highest poverty rate, the highest crime rate and mismanage and corrupt everything
wing wrote:Nope, they look at the choices and decide. In our system, just a few thousand voters in certain areas decide the outcome. Having all your support in one place makes no sense. Then again, there was opportunity to correct the system, except the constitutional majority was used just once to pass section 34.Mmoney607 wrote:wing wrote:Why most voters watch this and still vote for them?
So the key to winning elections in this country is to have the highest poverty rate, the highest crime rate and mismanage and corrupt everything
Listened to parliament channel when imburt was seeking to get the extension of the time limit to submit documents formally to the auditor general. 29th of April and 6th of May.shaneelal wrote:Ramdass: Colm crossed the line
‘Demanded change in report’: Colm Imbert
Auditor General Jaiwantie Ramdass has alleged that Finance Minister Colm Imbert tried to bully and intimidate her to change her 2023 audit report and that he crossed the line in doing so.
She said further that the attacks against her in the Parliament by both Imbert and Attorney General Reginald Armour on April 26 caused her great humiliation and distress—so much so that she had to abandon her errands in the public domain and retreat to her home.
Ramdass has commenced legal action against the Attorney General seeking, among other things, that she has the right to retain a legal representative to defend herself on issues that have arisen pertaining to the preparation and laying of the Auditor General’s report 2023 in Parliament.
Her claim was filed in the High Court on Tuesday and her legal team is led by former AG Anand Ramlogan of Freedom Law Chambers.
The Express obtained the 1,465-plus pages of court documents which include an affidavit from Ramdass detailing what transpired after she completed her report—and all the actions from the Ministry of Finance to try to get her to change the audited accounts.
The affidavit
According to Ramdass’ affidavit, Imbert called her on April 3, 2024, and enquired whether she was aware of the problem regarding the missing $3.4 billion in the national accounts that were presented, and she indicated it had only been brought to her attention.
Imbert asked her what she could do to help the Government resolve the problem.
Ramdass expressed concern that her office would be unfairly blamed by having to accept responsibility for a mistake of such magnitude and in response, “The Minister/ (acting) Prime Minister tersely told me that ‘we will deal with the question of blame later on, don’t worry about that!’ and said that I needed to cooperate with the Government and ‘solve this problem’.
“This telephone call left me with an uneasy feeling. The tone and attitude of the Minister made me very uncomfortable. I felt intimidated and extremely worried. I was concerned and worried because this was not the first time that the Minister of Finance had called me personally about my audit reports and I felt he was crossing the line.”
This was not in keeping with established protocols, she said.
Ramdass stated that the April 3 phone call was not the first time Imbert had called her.
She said that after she submitted her report on the financial statements of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund on November 29 for the year ended September 30, 2023, the minister called her personal cellphone to criticise an “adverse finding” she had made against the finance ministry.
“He called me on 15th January 2024 at 2.37 p.m. on my personal cell to express his displeasure over my finding that a deposit in the sum of US$182,213,278.00 was made on 23rd December 2022 in breach of the requirements of section 13 of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund Act, Chapter 70:09 of the laws of Trinidad and Tobago. I was surprised that the Minister was calling me on my personal cell phone as opposed to my official office phone as I was not aware of how he came to have the contact number for my personal cellphone,” she stated.
“He told me that he was of the view that I was wrong to make such an adverse finding in the audit report on the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund and demanded that I change it. I found the Minister’s tone and attitude to be arrogant and threatening and I felt as if he was trying to bully and intimidate me into changing my report. I told the Minister that I felt uncomfortable with the conversation but that he could have the Permanent Secretary write me about the matter if he so desired and he said ‘Goodbye’ and hung up the phone,” she added.
Ramdass said that about two weeks later Imbert wrote her by letter dated January 31, 2024, on the Auditor General’s Report on the 2023 Financial Statements of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund, where he again requested that she change her report. A copy of Imbert’s letter was provided.
Ramdass stated, “I was uncomfortable with the Minister’s demands and the arrogant and intimidating manner in which he was dealing with me. I decided that it would be unethical to accede to his request to change my finding...”
She said she replied to Imbert by letter dated February 14, 2024, stating that the report on the Financial Statements of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund “remains unchanged”.
Error in public accounts
Ramdass stated that on April 5, 2024, she received another memorandum from the finance ministry’s permanent secretary which stated that arising out of its reconciliation process, the variance discovered in the Statement of Revenue for the Financial Year 2023 which was submitted to her Department in January 2024 is $2,599,278,188.73.
She said the PS indicated that they will conduct one final check in respect of the remaining balance of $780,499,791.27 and accordingly advise that the finalised statements will be submitted to her by April 9.
“Given the magnitude of the alleged error in the national accounts, the shifting of the financial goal post to the lower revenue figure and the significant amount of revenue that could not be accounted for, I was very concerned about these unexpected and unprecedented developments,” stated Ramdass.
She said she was also reluctant to accept these accounts because she was unclear as to whether she could lawfully do so as the act did not make provision for the submission of any other accounts after the statutory deadline of January 31, 2024. Ramdass also noted that her audit was “completed” and to receive amended statements would “railroad” the hard work of the department.
‘Uncharted
waters’
Being placed in “uncharted waters” with no precedent to guide her, Ramdass continued to detail all the attempts representatives from the finance ministry made to get her to accept the amended accounts.
She said the finance ministry, by letter dated April 9, confirmed the total variance was in fact $2,599,278,188.73. She noted there was no mention of the unaccounted $780,499,791.27 in this letter.
Ramdass said she had several concerns with what had transpired as the ministry was claiming a significant increase in the revenue figure of approximately $3.4 billion.
She said the goalpost kept shifting as, within days, the finance ministry quickly revised this figure to $2,599,278,188.73 and it still did not account for $780,499,791.27.
Ramdass also reiterated that the amended Statement of Account was backdated to January 31, 2024, and it appeared that the ministry expected her to simply “substitute” or replace the original public accounts that were submitted on January 31, 2024, with this amended version without more.
“This gave rise to ethical issues that made me extremely uncomfortable because it would breach my code of conduct as an Auditor, affect the integrity of the auditing process and could lead to allegations of fraud,” she said.
Pre-action letter
The Auditor General stated that on April 15, 2024, she was “shocked” to receive a pre-action protocol letter from Kendra Mark-Gordon of the Attorney General’s office, threatening legal action against her if she did not accept the Amended Accounts.
Ramdass said out of an abundance of caution, she accepted the Amended Accounts and dispatched a team to start auditing the revised figures.
She said the senior audit staff could not verify the information they were provided and the finance ministry was unable to produce the relevant financial records and supporting documentary evidence to verify and substantiate this alleged increase in the Government’s revenue.
Ramdass submitted her report on April 24, 2024. Included in the report was a management letter which highlighted the problems that were discovered by the audit in the Treasury Statements which were submitted on April 16, 2024, when compared to the statements received of January 31, 2024.
Attacks in Parliament
The Auditor General said on April 26, 2024, her staff alerted her to the attacks from the Attorney General and Imbert in the Parliament against her office.
She said at a public outing on April 27, 2024, people who recognised her were laughing and this caused distress to her son.
“I was forced to abandon doing my errands and returned home. It was a humiliating, frustrating and depressing experience that I will never forget... Not being accustomed to being the subject of such intense adverse media attention, I felt humiliated and betrayed.
“I could not believe that the Minister of Finance and the Attorney General would make such misleading statements about my professional conduct in the Parliament. I was being unjustifiably ridiculed and vilified. It affected my sleep and peace of mind and left me feeling very depressed,” she said.
https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/ ... 93c8c.html
shaneelal wrote:Ramdass: Colm crossed the line
‘Demanded change in report’: Colm Imbert
Auditor General Jaiwantie Ramdass has alleged that Finance Minister Colm Imbert tried to bully and intimidate her to change her 2023 audit report and that he crossed the line in doing so.
She said further that the attacks against her in the Parliament by both Imbert and Attorney General Reginald Armour on April 26 caused her great humiliation and distress—so much so that she had to abandon her errands in the public domain and retreat to her home.
Ramdass has commenced legal action against the Attorney General seeking, among other things, that she has the right to retain a legal representative to defend herself on issues that have arisen pertaining to the preparation and laying of the Auditor General’s report 2023 in Parliament.
Her claim was filed in the High Court on Tuesday and her legal team is led by former AG Anand Ramlogan of Freedom Law Chambers.
The Express obtained the 1,465-plus pages of court documents which include an affidavit from Ramdass detailing what transpired after she completed her report—and all the actions from the Ministry of Finance to try to get her to change the audited accounts.
The affidavit
According to Ramdass’ affidavit, Imbert called her on April 3, 2024, and enquired whether she was aware of the problem regarding the missing $3.4 billion in the national accounts that were presented, and she indicated it had only been brought to her attention.
Imbert asked her what she could do to help the Government resolve the problem.
Ramdass expressed concern that her office would be unfairly blamed by having to accept responsibility for a mistake of such magnitude and in response, “The Minister/ (acting) Prime Minister tersely told me that ‘we will deal with the question of blame later on, don’t worry about that!’ and said that I needed to cooperate with the Government and ‘solve this problem’.
“This telephone call left me with an uneasy feeling. The tone and attitude of the Minister made me very uncomfortable. I felt intimidated and extremely worried. I was concerned and worried because this was not the first time that the Minister of Finance had called me personally about my audit reports and I felt he was crossing the line.”
This was not in keeping with established protocols, she said.
Ramdass stated that the April 3 phone call was not the first time Imbert had called her.
She said that after she submitted her report on the financial statements of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund on November 29 for the year ended September 30, 2023, the minister called her personal cellphone to criticise an “adverse finding” she had made against the finance ministry.
“He called me on 15th January 2024 at 2.37 p.m. on my personal cell to express his displeasure over my finding that a deposit in the sum of US$182,213,278.00 was made on 23rd December 2022 in breach of the requirements of section 13 of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund Act, Chapter 70:09 of the laws of Trinidad and Tobago. I was surprised that the Minister was calling me on my personal cell phone as opposed to my official office phone as I was not aware of how he came to have the contact number for my personal cellphone,” she stated.
“He told me that he was of the view that I was wrong to make such an adverse finding in the audit report on the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund and demanded that I change it. I found the Minister’s tone and attitude to be arrogant and threatening and I felt as if he was trying to bully and intimidate me into changing my report. I told the Minister that I felt uncomfortable with the conversation but that he could have the Permanent Secretary write me about the matter if he so desired and he said ‘Goodbye’ and hung up the phone,” she added.
Ramdass said that about two weeks later Imbert wrote her by letter dated January 31, 2024, on the Auditor General’s Report on the 2023 Financial Statements of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund, where he again requested that she change her report. A copy of Imbert’s letter was provided.
Ramdass stated, “I was uncomfortable with the Minister’s demands and the arrogant and intimidating manner in which he was dealing with me. I decided that it would be unethical to accede to his request to change my finding...”
She said she replied to Imbert by letter dated February 14, 2024, stating that the report on the Financial Statements of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund “remains unchanged”.
Error in public accounts
Ramdass stated that on April 5, 2024, she received another memorandum from the finance ministry’s permanent secretary which stated that arising out of its reconciliation process, the variance discovered in the Statement of Revenue for the Financial Year 2023 which was submitted to her Department in January 2024 is $2,599,278,188.73.
She said the PS indicated that they will conduct one final check in respect of the remaining balance of $780,499,791.27 and accordingly advise that the finalised statements will be submitted to her by April 9.
“Given the magnitude of the alleged error in the national accounts, the shifting of the financial goal post to the lower revenue figure and the significant amount of revenue that could not be accounted for, I was very concerned about these unexpected and unprecedented developments,” stated Ramdass.
She said she was also reluctant to accept these accounts because she was unclear as to whether she could lawfully do so as the act did not make provision for the submission of any other accounts after the statutory deadline of January 31, 2024. Ramdass also noted that her audit was “completed” and to receive amended statements would “railroad” the hard work of the department.
‘Uncharted
waters’
Being placed in “uncharted waters” with no precedent to guide her, Ramdass continued to detail all the attempts representatives from the finance ministry made to get her to accept the amended accounts.
She said the finance ministry, by letter dated April 9, confirmed the total variance was in fact $2,599,278,188.73. She noted there was no mention of the unaccounted $780,499,791.27 in this letter.
Ramdass said she had several concerns with what had transpired as the ministry was claiming a significant increase in the revenue figure of approximately $3.4 billion.
She said the goalpost kept shifting as, within days, the finance ministry quickly revised this figure to $2,599,278,188.73 and it still did not account for $780,499,791.27.
Ramdass also reiterated that the amended Statement of Account was backdated to January 31, 2024, and it appeared that the ministry expected her to simply “substitute” or replace the original public accounts that were submitted on January 31, 2024, with this amended version without more.
“This gave rise to ethical issues that made me extremely uncomfortable because it would breach my code of conduct as an Auditor, affect the integrity of the auditing process and could lead to allegations of fraud,” she said.
Pre-action letter
The Auditor General stated that on April 15, 2024, she was “shocked” to receive a pre-action protocol letter from Kendra Mark-Gordon of the Attorney General’s office, threatening legal action against her if she did not accept the Amended Accounts.
Ramdass said out of an abundance of caution, she accepted the Amended Accounts and dispatched a team to start auditing the revised figures.
She said the senior audit staff could not verify the information they were provided and the finance ministry was unable to produce the relevant financial records and supporting documentary evidence to verify and substantiate this alleged increase in the Government’s revenue.
Ramdass submitted her report on April 24, 2024. Included in the report was a management letter which highlighted the problems that were discovered by the audit in the Treasury Statements which were submitted on April 16, 2024, when compared to the statements received of January 31, 2024.
Attacks in Parliament
The Auditor General said on April 26, 2024, her staff alerted her to the attacks from the Attorney General and Imbert in the Parliament against her office.
She said at a public outing on April 27, 2024, people who recognised her were laughing and this caused distress to her son.
“I was forced to abandon doing my errands and returned home. It was a humiliating, frustrating and depressing experience that I will never forget... Not being accustomed to being the subject of such intense adverse media attention, I felt humiliated and betrayed.
“I could not believe that the Minister of Finance and the Attorney General would make such misleading statements about my professional conduct in the Parliament. I was being unjustifiably ridiculed and vilified. It affected my sleep and peace of mind and left me feeling very depressed,” she said.
https://trinidadexpress.com/news/local/ ... 93c8c.html
pugboy wrote:boy i hope so too
they will pass a law where they have to take orders from the minister
pugboy wrote:boy i hope so too
they will pass a law where they have to take orders from the minister
pugboy wrote:they will try
just like how they want to limit where legal gun owners can carry their firearms
shake d livin wake d dead wrote:Crime: outa control
Water: being promised since 1958
Health care: no words
Roads: well boy
Pnm: let's spend 56 million on a zoo...the citizens need an upgraded zoo...that will do it
Habit7 wrote:The process of drafting a bill involves consultation, this is nothing new, you are just ignorant about it.
While the Bill is being drafted, consultation is done with the various personnel for the Ministry at whose request the Bill is being prepared.
https://www.ttparliament.org/about/the- ... lawmaking/
Armour said that it is not govt policy but a UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) document. Is the UN saying he is lying?
Habit7 wrote:shake d livin wake d dead wrote:Crime: outa control
Water: being promised since 1958
Health care: no words
Roads: well boy
Pnm: let's spend 56 million on a zoo...the citizens need an upgraded zoo...that will do it
UNC: Diversify the economy!
also UNC: stop diversifying the economy!
Habit7 wrote:shake d livin wake d dead wrote:Crime: outa control
Water: being promised since 1958
Health care: no words
Roads: well boy
Pnm: let's spend 56 million on a zoo...the citizens need an upgraded zoo...that will do it
UNC: Diversify the economy!
also UNC: stop diversifying the economy!
bluefete wrote:Habit7 wrote:The process of drafting a bill involves consultation, this is nothing new, you are just ignorant about it.
While the Bill is being drafted, consultation is done with the various personnel for the Ministry at whose request the Bill is being prepared.
https://www.ttparliament.org/about/the- ... lawmaking/
Armour said that it is not govt policy but a UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) document. Is the UN saying he is lying?
The foreigners calling shots as usual. Just as the Rowley administration loves.
Is the PNM going to tell its bandit friends that they are not supposed to rob people in those "gun free" areas? It seems to me, if it becomes law, that the legal-gun holders will be further emasculated and the bandits with guns will be further empowered.
Now before Habit7 jumps in with his balisier waving self, let me just write this: The proposal looks good at the outset. BUT, if it is coming from the UN - wholesale - there is going to be a major problem in its application to T&T - OUR CULTURE!
Those types of laws are designed for so-called developed countries and they are just copied and pasted by other governments courtesy of the UN.
bluefete wrote:Habit7 wrote:shake d livin wake d dead wrote:Crime: outa control
Water: being promised since 1958
Health care: no words
Roads: well boy
Pnm: let's spend 56 million on a zoo...the citizens need an upgraded zoo...that will do it
UNC: Diversify the economy!
also UNC: stop diversifying the economy!
How is that diversifying the economy?
That is just PNM making slush money for 2025 general elections. What does a zoo need a cinema for? Oh, to show animal documentaries. Yeah, right.
pugboy wrote:waterfront and cruise ships are of no use to citizens who being robbed daily at night home invasions….
Return to “Ole talk and more Ole talk”
Users browsing this forum: redmanjp and 215 guests
